Members of the Congressional China Task Force met with Taiwan’s ambassador July 20 to discuss how the United States could best prevent an invasion of the island by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forces.
Republican leadership took the opportunity to underscore the threat posed to the United States by the CCP’s authoritarianism, and to outline why and how the nation ought to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself from aggression.
“Since 2020, this task force has worked diligently to raise awareness of the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, which is the greatest geopolitical threat facing America and our friends in the Indo-Pacific,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Cali.) said.
“The CCP has shown itself to be a ruthless, aggressive, and evil dictatorship. We cannot underrate its goal to control through force and brutality.”
McCarthy said that Taiwan’s democratic government and way of life was worth preserving for its own sake, but also noted its immense strategic value to the United States.
Taiwan accounts for the production of more than 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors, used in everything from personal computers to hypersonic missiles. It is also situated in the first island chain, just east of mainland Asia, access to which is vital for international supply lines.
“Taiwan warrants our support because it is a vibrant, thriving democracy,” McCarthy said. “It’s people want peace, freedom, and the right to determine their own future.”
“Supporting Taiwan is right and it is in America’s best interest.”
‘A Matter of Survival’
The CCP claims that Taiwan is a breakaway province, though Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949 and has never been controlled by the CCP. Its de facto independence is a frequent sticking point in Sino-American relations, as the United States is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide the island government with enough arms to maintain its self defense.
Taiwan Ambassador to the United States, Bi-khim Hsiao, welcomed the task force’s efforts to ensure that it received those arms.
Moreover, Hsiao warned that the CCP’s “malign behavior” did not just pose an ideological threat to Taiwan, but an existential one.
